notify
Americanverb (used with object)
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notifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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notified,
past participle, past
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notifying
present participle
verb
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to inform; tell
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to draw attention to; make known; announce
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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notifiernoun
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prenotifyverb (used with object)
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renotifyverb (used with object)
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notifiableadjective
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unnotifiedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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notifysimple
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notifiessimple
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have notifiedperfect
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has notifiedperfect
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am notifyingprogressive
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are notifyingprogressive
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is notifyingprogressive
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have been notifyingperfect progressive
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has been notifyingperfect progressive
Past
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notifiedsimple
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had notifiedperfect
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was notifyingprogressive
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were notifyingprogressive
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had been notifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of notify
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English notifien, from Middle French notifier, from Latin nōtificāre, from (g)nōt(us), past participle of (g)nōscere “to come to know” ( see also know 1) + -ificāre -ify
Explanation
To notify is to officially give someone a piece of information. If your poem wins the local poetry competition, the judges will notify you that you're the winner. When you notify someone about something, it can be good or bad news. New parents notify friends and family about their baby's birth. When a library's money problems force it to close on Sundays, it might notify its patrons with an email or a letter. Notify comes from the Latin notificare, "to make known," which stems from notus, "known," and facere, "make or do."
Vocabulary lists containing notify
Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 5
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Louisiana’s Way Home
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He directed the agency to notify employers backpay may be owed to H-2A workers and U.S. farmworkers if the new applicable rates exceed what they were paid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
However, as executor, is it my responsibility to notify the financial institutions of her death and provide documentation?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
He also did not notify them that he had acquired a new passport and two bank cards during his trip.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The measures are directed at addressing operational gaps identified in the episode, including an unintelligible transmission to air-traffic controllers, who failed to notify a nearby passenger jet of the president’s helicopter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Occasionally, it was an officer’s fault: The gallery officer might have failed to find the inmate and then forgotten to follow up, or someone might have forgotten to notify the gallery officer.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
"Unable to install the new version because Google Play notifies that the new version is already installed. Can't understand why ScotRail did not do a control rollout to a selected area to resolve usage problems."
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
The IRS notifies households of penalties by a written letter sent through the mail.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
The company introduced a new no-show alert last fall: Parents set an expected school-arrival time and it notifies them if their child doesn’t show up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
The IDN, for instance, has a system to alert trained observers to respond to ICE action, and notifies people based on their proximity to the action.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2026
By-and-by the evening gun booms from the heights above, where Sergeant Munro, taking time from his sun-dial and the town major, notifies the official sunset.
From Romantic Spain A Record of Personal Experiences (Vol. II) by John Augustus O'Shea
The firm said it only became aware of the hack on Tuesday and quickly prevented the hackers gaining any more access, and notified affected customers.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
There were 112 deaths of care leavers aged 18 to 24 notified in 2025, which the review said equalled about 130 deaths per 100,000 care leavers.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The department notified the local public works agency of some damage, but McGee could not say what exactly was damaged or what the extent was.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
In the late afternoon on the day of the Roosevelt Room meeting, the DOJ notified the plaintiff states of near-final terms and gave them a day to decide whether to join the deal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Obviously he had been notified that she was on her way.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
If you do discover an unauthorized charge on your debit card, notifying your bank or credit union within two business days of noticing the fraud caps your maximum liability at $50.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
Initially, the model degraded responses to some questions about AI development without notifying users.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Under California law, leaving the scene of a property-damage-only collision without exchanging information or notifying authorities can result in misdemeanor penalties if charges are filed.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
Only “appropriate authorities” can confirm a fatality after coordinating with the communications office and notifying the decedent’s next of kin, the Post reported, citing the memo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Two hours before the train reached Chicago, during a brief stop, McKim received a cable notifying him that his mother, Sarah McKim, had died unexpectedly in her home, at seventy-eight.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
